This May, Armenia put into operation the largest solar power plant, Masrik-1, which was constructed in just 11 months by Shtigen, a company specializing in Armenian renewable energy.

The plant is expected to annually generate approximately 128 GWh of electricity which is enough to supply more than 20,000 households.

Banks.am interviewed Hayk Shekyan, the founder and CEO of Shtigen Group regarding the construction process of Masrik-1, the importance of developing local energy infrastructure, and the company’s recent corporate bond issuance.

Masrik-1 was one of the most complex infrastructure projects in Armenia’s history

Having a capacity of 62 MW, Masrik-1, the largest solar plant is exceptional solar facility of this scale that has been developed in the country for the first time.

The construction faced a number of force majeures, including the COVID-19 and Artsakh War in 2020. At that time, there were no local companies in Armenia with the necessary capacity and experience to implement projects of such scale.

The owner of Masrik-1 is FRV (Fotowatio Renewable Ventures), an international company focused on the development of renewable energy. Establishing a partnership with Chinese contractor CMEK, FRV delegated the construction of the project to Shtigen.

Shtigen joined the construction in November 2023 and completed the project within 11 months. More than 130 employees were involved in the process, including local residents from Mets Masrik community.

Given the location of the plant (Mets Masrik, Gegharkunik), the construction began at an extremely unfavorable time of year. The site had been carefully determined based on detailed solar irradiation measurements, but the climate conditions were severe in autumn and winter months, with temperatures frequently dropping to -15°C to -20°C. We did face this challenge: the frozen and compacted soil significantly hindered the operation of construction machinery.

Also, the deadline was tight as the team could not wait until April or May for more favorable weather conditions to resume the work.

I can confidently say that Masrik-1 was one of the most complex infrastructure projects in Armenia’s history. Nevertheless, our team overcame all the challenges by literally living on-site for 11 months. We established temporary housing in Masrik and mobilized professionals here and then it looked like a military-style mobilization having the core of the team gathered at the construction site.

We also involved local community members, and it was not easy as many of them had never participated in a construction project of this scale. However, our goal was not only to build the plant but also contribute to the local economic environment.

Despite the challenges, the construction of Masrik-1 was practically completed by October 2024.

The plant covers an area of 130 hectares with around 115,000 panels installed. Its annual energy output is sufficient to power more than 20,000 households.

Armenia’s energy infrastructure is not designed for high volumes of renewable energy; it needs “a new suit”

The growth of the renewable energy sector in Armenia has faced not just technological barriers but deep systemic issues, and the lack of a unified national vision is a primary one. Residing in our place, we should ask ourselves: what kind of home are we building? What’s the foundation? What’s the long-term strategy?

Unfortunately, in over 30 years of independence, these questions remain unanswered. While there were some strategies and conceptual paperwork, Armenia’s economic and energy development is still heavily dependent on external factors. Infrastructure is expensive, value chains inherited from the Soviet era have been severed, and there are no new ones to replace them. Meanwhile, the government and private sector are not fully aligned, and Armenia continues to lose its most talented human capital.

The awareness of all these fundamental issues lies at the heart of the need to develop renewable energy in Armenia. Naturally, environmental concerns play a major role—especially in today’s context. Renewable energy is a mindset, an attitude to life, and problem-solving.

If we don’t boost local energy production, we remain trapped in a web of dependencies. What is more, I use the word “local” purposefully, rather than just “renewable.” Our local energy comes from the Sun, wind, and water.

Of course, traditional sources of energy such as nuclear or thermal should also remain part of the energy mix. However, when it comes to reducing dependency, the development of renewable energy has no alternative. It is from this perspective that we should view both the Masrik-1 project and the approximately 35,000 solar systems already installed across Armenia.

At the same time, we should understand that the development of any sector inevitably brings unexpected challenges, and they need to be addressed. When a child outgrows the clothes, parents don’t say “Why have you grown?” or “Stop growing!”—they simply buy new clothes.

We are now at a phase in which Armenia needs “new clothes.” The infrastructures in the country are not designed to support the current scale of renewable energy. Instead of celebrating the child’s growth and investing in new clothing, we say, “I’m so sorry, we can’t afford new clothes.”

In fact, we should develop and invest in the right tools to manage this stage of growth.

People want to invest in Armenian companies with long-term vision

The renewable energy sector should be nourished, and there are several ways to do that.
First, we need to attract highly qualified professionals to the sector. Fortunately, in recent years, this has been increasingly successful since working in a solar energy company is now associated with stability and future potential.

The other key resource for the sector is, of course, finance. However, there are structural challenges here as well. Currently, financing largely follows a centralized model: the government makes the investment, and the funds reach companies through banks. When subsidy programs end, the sector either stagnates or shrinks dramatically. In addition, the financial pipeline is overly dependent on banks. In this case, the only “supplier” of money is the banks.

Recognizing this, and shedding light on Armenia’s underdeveloped capital market, Shtigen issued corporate bonds.

There is clear awareness of the issue at the state level as well, evidenced by the launch of government-backed support programs for bond issuance.

I believe “building” the second wheel of capital inflow will not only benefit our company but also invigorate the sector, changing both perception and behavior.
Money that would otherwise stay “under the pillow” can now be redirected into the economy.

It is noteworthy that 85% of Shtigen Group’s bondholders are individual investors—people previously unknown to us. In conversations, many of them highlight that their motivation lies in investing in a local Armenian company with a long-term development vision.

As I mentioned earlier, this is also a matter of awareness and mindset. Keeping money as a bank deposit is a relatively passive position, and one does not contribute to the country’s economy, society, or daily life.
If we draw parallels between the state and a large corporation, the latter should function with the active participation of all its components. But in this case, many of its “cells” are disengaged from the overall effort.

Envision an economy significantly more vibrant where citizens were also involved as shareholders in our infrastructure and other key sectors.

The attracted funds will we directed toward company and sector development

Naturally, raising capital through bond issuance is not an end in itself. It is a means to support not only the growth of Shtigen Group but also the broader development of the renewable energy sector in Armenia.

The funds raised through the bond issuance will be distributed in three main strategic directions:

1.    Company Expansion – both geographically and in terms of product offerings. Today Shtigen Group has built a small yet stable and growing ecosystem, collaborating with major industrial and manufacturing partners parallelly developing its electric mobility division. We believe that building solar plants alone is not sufficient to drive systemic change. We aim at allocating a portion of the funds toward developing solar-plus-storage systems and heat pump technologies in Armenia. They enhance the efficiency of the entire value chain of renewable energy production and consumption by minimizing losses.

2.    Financial Diversification – reallocating and diversifying the company’s financial sources. Our goal is to reduce dependency on the banking system and build direct channels of engagement with investors.

3.    The third direction is sectoral development by contributing to the broader growth of the renewable energy sector. This includes launching international partnerships, creating training opportunities for specialists, and organizing the Energy Transition and Entrepreneurship Summit (ETES) for the second time this July. Thus, the goal of the summit is to bring together all key players in the sector.

That said, the funds raised through Shtigen’s bond program will support not only the company’s growth but the overall development of renewable energy in Armenia.

We should stimulate domestic investment

C-Quadrat Ampega Social Fund has recently made an investment in what they described as “Shtigen, Armenia’s leading renewable energy company,” highlighting the company’s role in building a cleaner future through innovative solutions.

There have been some positive shifts in Armenia’s investment environment. As mentioned, nowadays there are programs on state assistance to the Bonds issuance, increased engagement from the private sector, and a growing culture of investment among individuals.

As for me, the key focus should be on stimulating domestic investment.

We need to strengthen the internal market which will, in turn, encourage external investments.

How does Shtigen Group support a healthier investment environment? We began by identifying structural pain points across the ecosystem. These issues fall into two main categories in both state and private sectors:

1.    Public sector where key problems relate to the functionality of state institutions, legislative frameworks, and decision-making processes.
2.    Private sector where the challenge lies is the lack of fair competition rules.

We often approach business like a road race in which “overtaking” at the crossroads feels like victory until others outpace us at the next turn. The solution lies in collaborative driving—shared behavior based on mutual respect. In a business environment, we should establish and adhere to a set of agreed rules.

Norway and Venezuela have similar oil reserves yet not comparable levels of well-being.

In the absence of a balanced collaboration between the state, business, and citizens, societies tend to degrade. What emerges is a form of "wild" capitalism that gradually erodes the state’s capacity and effectiveness. In other words, a healthy cooperation between these three pillars is the only viable path forward, one that the entire world is currently moving toward.

When we examine the annual reports of leading global companies, we find that they are typically divided into two sections: financial and non-financial. The latter highlights impactful projects implemented not for profit but due to a sense of public social responsibility. These initiatives target environmental protection, social accountability, and good governance. This is the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) concept, accepted by the UN as a crucial foundation for development.

The greater the awareness and integration of these principles in a country’s economy and business sector, the more resilient and developed the country is. Just look at Norway and Venezuela: they have similar oil reserves, but vastly different outcomes in terms of national well-being.

From social and national responsibility to sectoral synergy

At Shtigen Group, we firmly believe that our responsibility goes far beyond business growth. We call this philosophy Corporate National Responsibility (CNR), a deep-rooted conviction that even small steps can lead to significant change.

We implement projects grounded in a strong sense of public responsibility and desire to be of real benefit to the energy sector, society, and the state.

Shtigen Kids and Shtigen Academy are among these projects, both designed to promote education and public awareness in the field of renewable energy.

Through years of experience, we’ve come to such a clear conclusion that for a state to function sustainably, the “wheels” that drive it—public institutions, businesses, domain experts, and society—should be in sync. To meet this goal, we initiated the Energy Transition and Entrepreneurship Summit (ETES).

This year, ETES will be held for the second time in July, within the framework of Sevan Startup Summit, bringing together key stakeholders from public, academic, private, and international spheres.

It’s extremely important to us that other companies from the sector participate as well. We warmly invite our peers and partners to join us.

Yana Shakhramanyan

Photos: Agape Grigoryan